Players' reaction: “We believe we can go there and win”

Aursnes, Pavlidis, Álvaro Carreras, Barreiro and Schjelderup analyzed Benfica-Barcelona (0-1), the first leg of the last 16 of the Champions League, which took place on Wednesday, March 5, at the Estádio da Luz.

AURSNES

"We created a lot of chances..."

"We had a great chance today, especially when they got the red card. It was a very disappointing result. We created a lot of chances, but unfortunately we didn't score. I think we were fighting at the start, when it was 11 against 11, but when they got the red card the game changed. Unfortunately, we couldn't score. We controlled the game after the red card, as we should have done, but, yes, the ball didn't want to go in the net. [Ambition for the second leg] Of course we believe we can go there and win. We have to believe, we'll certainly do it, we'll do our best, and we'll see how far it goes."

PAVLIDIS

"Everything is wide open"

"We had the chance, because of the red card, to play against 10 for a long time. Unfortunately we didn't manage to score, we missed a lot of chances. In the 2nd half, I think they only shot once and were lucky to score a goal. We couldn't score and that's very disappointing for us. [More difficult against 10?] No, I don't think so because we had the ball, we controlled the game, we created a lot of chances. On another day, we might have scored 1, 2 or 3 goals. But today, unfortunately, we didn't manage it. We're not happy, but we've got the second game, everything is open, 0-1 isn't that much, and we're going to fight. [Match in Barcelona] Of course it won't be an easy game, but we know we can play good football, we know we're a good team, and we know what good players we have. I think everything is open for the next game. Of course they have a 0-1 lead, they're playing in their own stadium, but we'll go there. That's what we do best, we play away like we do at home."

ÁLVARO CARRERAS

"I trust my team completely"

"The truth is that we were left with a bitter taste. We had the game in hand, but in the end we didn't take advantage of the space. I'm confident in the team and that we'll turn it around in the second leg. [What failed] I'm going to watch the game again, as always. I like to analyze, but I don't know... the truth is that their goal also came from a bad pass, which hindered our counter-attack, and Raphinha was alert. We have to move on. Now we've got the league, which is very important to us, and we'll definitely improve in the second leg. [Unhappy with the yellow card that rules him out of the second leg] It's true, because it's a bad control, I get a bit carried away and step on Koundé. I knew I had to be careful, but in the end, it's football, you have to take risks... that's how it is. [Comeback in Barcelona] Faith is the last thing I'm going to lose. I have complete faith in my team. Any player who has to play will do well."

BARREIRO

"Everything is possible"

"A long time playing with an extra player and not winning the game is frustrating. We had a lot of chances that could have been goals. We tried to have a lot of chances, and we did, but we didn't score today. I think we could have played 10, 15 minutes more, [but] today the ball didn't want to go in. [place in the starting XI] I felt good, we got into the game well. We had an early chance to score the first goal. For the rest of the game, I felt good. After [Barcelona's] red card, we needed a bit of time, but then we adapted well. I felt good and confident with the team. [2nd leg match] Anything is possible. We're going [to Barcelona] to win the game, to qualify for the next round, and we're going to prepare in the best possible way. Now we have an important game at the weekend [Benfica-Nacional, matchday 25 of the Liga Betclic, this Saturday, March 8] and then we'll focus on Tuesday's game."

SCHJELDERUP

"We won't give up, we'll give everything in the next game"

"It was a difficult game for us. Of course, they got the red card early on, so we needed to have been better, we needed to have used that opportunity to win the game and score goals. We lost, of course we were disappointed, but there's still another game to play. So we're not going to give up, we're going to give everything in the next game. [The same as in the Monaco game] Yes, they also had a red card, and we didn't exploit that as we should have. Of course we're very disappointed now, but we need to keep going and working hard. There's the second game, where we can change everything. [More difficult against 10] Sometimes, because when there are 11 of you, you're relying on them and there's more space. When there are 10, there isn't as much space and we always have the ball. We created enough to score a lot of goals, but we didn't get them. Now we have to keep going and, for sure, the goals will come in the next game. [About António Silva] That's fine. Of course, mistakes are part of football, but we'll support António and I'm sure he'll have a good game this weekend, as well as the next one."